Beautiful Mistake
by Tomate
Summary: When Mac finds out what happened between Stella and a certain coworker he takes her to task. Did he screw things up? Contains Spoiler for Episode 6x01 "Epilogue".


**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but my imagination. All Characters belong to Anthony Zuiker and CBS.

**A/N: **I had that story siting around my laptop for ages now. Since 6x01 aired actually. I hope you enjoy the story. I'd be happy if you left a short note letting me know what you think :)

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"Adam?" Mac asked in disbelief as he stepped into Stella's office and closed the door behind himself.

Stella's head shot up as she looked up from her paperwork. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about."

"I…" Stella started but broke up again. "I don't know what to say. It's not like I owe you an explanation or anything. It's none of your business."

Mac winced at the sharpness in her voice. "Stella," he said. "It's against department policy so it is my damn business."

Stella held his gaze for a moment before looking away. When she didn't say anything in return, Mac spoke up again. "You know, you used to tell me stuff like that," he said. "You used to tell me when you're in a relationship and not try to hide it from me."

"Yes, that's because I knew you'd be against it," Stella said, her voice hard.

"I wouldn't try to separate you from someone who makes you happy. I wouldn't even think of something like that," Mac returned in disbelief. "But Adam?"

"What's your damn problem?" Stella asked. "Maybe he does make me happy. Maybe he's there for me when I'm feeling bad and need someone to make me feel better. Maybe he _is_ what I want."

"He's not your type, Stella, and you know it."

"Oh and you know who or what my type is?"

"I thought I did," Mac returned, "but I guess I was wrong." He turned around to leave her office again. When he was at the door, he turned around again though. "I really hope he'll make you happy." With that, he vanished.

For the first time in their conversation, Stella had seen something other than anger or disappointment. She couldn't quite put a finger on what it was at first but then it hit her. She got up and left her office as well, following Mac. Without knocking, she just entered his office and closed the door behind herself.

"Are you jealous?" she asked.

Mac just stared at her. "I," he started but broke off again. "What?"

"You are, aren't you?" Stella stated. "Why else would you make such a big deal about it? And don't tell me something about department policies because you don't care about them when it comes to my happiness. You never have."

Mac continued staring at Stella.

"Well, you could've saved your little trip there if you weren't so damn stubborn," Stella continued, "because there is no relationship of any kind with Adam. There never has been, there never will be. I slept with him once. Yes, it was a mistake and yes, I shouldn't have done it but I can't make it undone."

"But," Mac finally found his voice again, "he told you that he's in love with you."

"Yes and I told him that I didn't return his feelings. I told him that I couldn't give him what he wanted or needed, and that I didn't want him to get hurt, and that I'm sorry. I told him that us having sex was a mistake."

Stella and Mac just looked at each other for a few long moments.

"I guess I overreacted," Mac said after a while.

"Damn it, Mac," Stella said in frustration. "Just for once be honest with yourself and admit your feelings for me. This is your last chance. I'm not gonna wait forever for you to make a move. I'm done waiting."

With that, Stella turned around and left, returning to her office. She sat behind her desk for less than a minute when Mac stepped into the room once again.

"We're not gonna keep this running back and forth between our offices up, are we?" Mac asked with a slight smile.

Stella just glared at him, waiting for him to say what she wanted, what she needed to hear but Mac just kept looking at her. When he still hadn't said anything after a full five minutes, Stella spoke up again.

"If you walk out of this office without telling me how you feel, you screwed this up," she said. "I know you have feelings for me, Mac; feelings that go beyond friendship. Hell, everyone knows. I don't want you to tell me that you love me, I just want you to admit your feelings for me."

"Stella," Mac returned, "I don't think this is the right place – "

Stella cut him off again. "If you walk out of this office…," she said again, her voice a tad sharper than before. "I'm done waiting, Mac. This is your last chance."

He looked at her for a moment. "I care a lot more about you than just as a friend, Stella."

"There you go," she said as her expression softened a little. "Now you can leave."

"What?" Mac asked surprised.

"Now you can leave," Stella repeated. "Run for the hills. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"What?" Mac asked again. "No, that's not what I want."

"Then what do _you_ want?" Stella dared to ask.

"Do we really have to discuss this here?"

Stella sighed in frustration. "Fine. Where else do you want to go then? Because you're not getting out of this now."

"How about the Italian place down the block?"

"Okay," Stella said and got up. "Let's go."

The way to the restaurant was spent in a quiet tension. Only after they were seated at a table and had their orders placed, Mac spoke up again.

"You know, it would help if you could stop glaring at me," he said with the faintest smile. The smile was so small that Stella wasn't even sure it was there. She took a deep breath and when she exhaled, her expression softened a little.

"I'm not good at this," Mac said after a few moments.

"I'm not blaming you for that."

"Then why are you so angry?"

Stella looked at him, surprise written all over her face. After a moment, her expression softened even more. "I'm not angry, Mac," she said and reached over the table to rest her hand on his but then hesitated. "I'm just tired. I'm tired of waiting and I don't want to pretend anymore. I'm sick of pretending that I'm not in love with you."

Mac smiled and took hold of Stella's hand. "What are we gonna do?"

"I'm not gonna force you into something you're not ready for or you don't even want," Stella replied. "We'll just go from here, work with what we know."

"Spoken like a true scientist," Mac said with a real smile this time.

Stella chuckled. "Well, I learnt from the best." Mac just smiled and remained silent. "Mac, I meant what I said. I don't want to force you into anything you don't want or you're not ready for. But, for that, I need you to talk to me. I need to know what you want."

Mac was silent for a few more moments before he spoke. "Sometimes I just need a little longer to figure out what I want. Sometimes I just need the time."

"I can give you time," Stella returned.

Mac shook his head. "No you can't," he returned firmly. "Like you said earlier, you're done waiting. And you deserve someone who doesn't need time; you deserve someone who doesn't keep you waiting."

Stella opened her mouth to protest but Mac cut her off before she could even start. "Please let me finish." She nodded.

"I know you can't give me anymore time and I won't ask you for it. Because, I know that if I ask for more time, I'm going to lose you and I can't lose you. I can't promise you to never hesitate and I don't want to rush into things with you. But I definitely don't want things to stay the way they are between us."

"Okay," Stella returned, giving Mac the first real smile he's seen that night.

"Good," he agreed, his smile matching hers.

"You know, I don't want to just jump into things with you either, Mac," Stella said after a while, "I just want the reassurance that we're gonna move forward, that we're not gonna stay just friends."

Mac locked eyes with her. "That I can give you. I promise things won't stay the way they are between us."

"That's enough for me" Stella answered. "For now," she added after a few moments.

Mac gave her a soft smile. "I promise you that our relationship is not gonna stay as it is."

Stella nodded just as the waiter served their food. During dinner they made casual small talk, talking about work and what was new with them and what was going on in their lives. They stayed at the restaurant for a cup of coffee after dinner before finally exiting it close to midnight. They walked back in the direction of the lab slowly, their arms brushing every once in a while.

"Let me drive you home?" Mac asked when they had reached the entrance of the building.

"That would be nice."

"What, no protests because I live on the opposite side of the city?" Mac asked with an amused smile.

Stella just shrugged.

The ride to her apartment complex was spent in comfortable silence. When they had reached their destination, Mac walked Stella up to the front door of the building. They faced each other silently for a moment.

"I'd like to take you out to dinner sometime this week," Mac said after a while.

"I'd like that," Stella returned.

"You free tomorrow night?"

"No, actually," Stella replied with an apologetic smile. "I'm meeting with a friend from high school. She's in the city for a few days but she's free only tomorrow night. I'm sorry."

Mac shook his head. "It's okay. We'll go out another night."

"How about Friday?" Stella suggested.

Mac nodded. "Sure."

They kept standing in front of the building for a few more minutes and talked before saying their goodbyes. Mac placed a light kiss on Stella's forehead and whispered a soft goodnight before Stella vanished into the building. Smiling, she made her way up to her apartment. Who would've thought that a mistake like sleeping with Adam would lead to her and Mac finally taking their relationship to the next level?

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**A/N:** So, I hope you enjoyed the story. Wanna make me a happy camper? Then press the little butto down there and leave me a review :)


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